Category Archives: Reuse Design

Radical Reuse at The Hatchery: Students at this innovation center in Rockport are re-imagining the life cycle of our material world – by MEGHAN VIGEANT

Through in-school apprenticeships, after-school programs, and summer internships, Salomon empowers his students to dream big, work collaboratively, and tackle problems with their own creative designs. Charlotte Nelson (’25) appreciates the freedom and structure. “It’s more like we’re equals. We’re all learning together. We’re trying new things. You want to do something? Go for it.”

Radical Reuse at The Hatchery

Native Trails Reclaims Wine-Making Materials for Bath Vanities

Native Trails Turns Reclaimed Wine-Making Materials Into Bath Vanities

Naomi Neilson founded Native Trails in 1996 and for more than 25 years, the sustainable kitchen and bath manufacturer has collaborated with hundreds of highly-skilled artisans in places such as Mexico, California, Vietnam, and Italy. Naomi is one of the few female leaders in the sustainable kitchen and bathroom industry, an industry that is heavily reliant on female consumers. In 2019, the company earned its B Corp Certification, joining a community of leaders helping to drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good. The company’s Vintner’s Collection is made from reclaimed wine-making materials.

Source: Native Trails Reclaims Wine-Making Materials for Bath Vanities

Old walls, new life? Britain’s builders embrace the retrofit revolution | Real estate | The Guardian

Photo of a nearly complete refurbished office building with a red brick facade

Holbein Gardens in London will feature green walls of plants and a car park converted into cycle spaces. Photograph: Antonio Olmos

“Your real estate is one of the easier ways to reduce emissions as a business,” says Bond. “Sustainability is becoming more important to occupiers, investors and employees.”

Source: Old walls, new life? Britain’s builders embrace the retrofit revolution | Real estate | The Guardian

We’re running out of materials – and of time to do something about it | Comment | Building

The focus will be on an emerging materials shortage. It is only a matter of years until we run out of some virgin materials, so the construction industry will have to reuse and reclaim existing resources – the market for reclaimed materials will in turn grow substantially.

Source: We’re running out of materials – and of time to do something about it | Comment | Building

For These Designers and Homebuilders, the Best Materials Are Ones That Have Already Been Used – Dwell

Architect Andrew Franz used reclaimed timber extensively in this renovation of a loft apartment in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, transforming a small space into a bright and comfortable home for four.

A growing number of designers, architects, and builders are catching on to the goldmine that is construction waste, and have started recycling wood, plastic, and metal, and upcycling rubble to create entirely new materials for use in home design.

Source: For These Designers and Homebuilders, the Best Materials Are Ones That Have Already Been Used – Dwell

Lancaster University Project Envisions To Accelerate Material Re-Use In Construction – India Education 

The use of re-used materials in construction has the potential of reducing the embodied carbon of construction and can reduce the demand for virgin materials as well as reducing construction waste. Embodied carbon in the construction phase of a building’s life typically equates to 50%/70% of its total life cycle emissions.

Source: Lancaster University Project Envisions To Accelerate Material Re-Use In Construction – India Education | Latest Education News | Global Educational News | Recent Educational News

Salvaged Lumber Summit: Building a Circular Ecosystem Tickets, Wed, Feb 1, 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

Salvaged Lumber Summit: Building a Circular Ecosystem

Feb 01Salvaged Lumber Summit: Building a Circular Ecosystem

A dynamic combination of micro presentations and active collaboration to fast-track adoption of salvaged wood into mass timber.

In the ongoing search for building materials with the lowest embodied carbon and highest carbon storage capacity (that can be managed in a circular economy), the use of salvaged wood in finger jointed products/feedstock and mass timber assemblies keeps rising to the surface.

This summit will:

  • spotlight recent related innovations
  • identify key components and status of each
  • explore near-term opportunities for moving the effort forward
  • connect partners and build new relationships
  • identify next steps

Source: Salvaged Lumber Summit: Building a Circular Ecosystem Tickets, Wed, Feb 1, 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

A Note on Sustainable Wood Sourcing from Santa Cruz Guitar Company | Acoustic Guitar

It wouldn’t pay to build instruments and wait two centuries for them to become fully resonant before selling them, though Santa Cruz Guitar Company gains that advantage by beginning with really old wood. This aligns beautifully with the company’s decades long dedication to using reclaimed materials for both superior tone and environmental responsibility.

Source: A Note on Sustainable Wood Sourcing from Santa Cruz Guitar Company | Acoustic Guitar

Searing House by outsider architect Bruce Goff asks for $975,000 – The Spaces

Photography: Eric Isaacson of SquareOne Media

Midcentury architect Bruce Goff built a plethora of organic buildings across the Midwest and beyond, combining imaginative forms with found and reclaimed materials, including ribbed Quonset huts, feathers and cullet.

Source: Searing House by outsider architect Bruce Goff asks for $975,000 – The Spaces

Hereford distillery opens tap room in former toilet block – BBC News

Paul Kenyon in his distillery

Paul Kenyon started distilling gin during lockdown

He admitted that the toilets in St Martin’s Avenue had once been “terrible”, but it was also ideal for his distilling needs because it had drainage, electricity and water. After removing the cubicles, he had it redecorated with reclaimed materials, including tin from a friend’s farm and reused coffee sacks.

Source: Hereford distillery opens tap room in former toilet block – BBC News

Sustainable Construction: How to Refurbish, Upcycle and Green Old Buildings – Bloomberg

Trilox

Tri-Lox reclaims timber from water towers that are being retired. Photographer: Arion Doerr/Tri-Lox

Extending the life of existing structures, making them more efficient and reusing materials when properties are torn down offers one of the clearest paths for decarbonizing a sector that single-handedly threatens efforts to keep global warming within the 2C limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Source: Sustainable Construction: How to Refurbish, Upcycle and Green Old Buildings – Bloomberg

Winners of Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022 revealed | Scottish Construction Now

Winners of Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022 revealed

The ‘Pre-Landfill’ by Karlis Kukainis from Mackintosh School of Architecture

The Judges thought that this “playful project exhibits the art in architecture and shows that there can be fun beyond science”. It does this by testing the limits of reuse practices of reclaimed materials from demolished buildings which will be key to how we tackle the Climate Emergency.

Source: Winners of Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022 revealed | Scottish Construction Now

“Brick toaster” aims to cut global CO2 emissions by 15% in 15 years

Rondo's "brick toaster" heat storage system is 98% efficient, and stores cheap renewable energy for industrial use at 20% the cost of an electrochemical battery

Rondo’s “brick toaster” heat storage system is 98% efficient, and stores cheap renewable energy for industrial use at 20% the cost of an electrochemical battery. Rondo Energy

These stoves are full of plain ol’ bricks, made out of plain ol’ clay, sometimes with a bit of sand in there, but certainly nothing special in terms of materials. Nothing toxic, nothing that decays over time. These bricks will still be storing heat just as well in 40 or 50 years’ time, when chemical batteries have gone through several generations of complex recycling.

Source: “Brick toaster” aims to cut global CO2 emissions by 15% in 15 years

YangNar Studio Converted a Pigsty into a Beautiful Tropical Home in Thailand

Reclaimed wooden walkways and shared outdoor spaces make up a lot of the reclaimed Kha-Nam Noi House.

Reclaimed wooden walkways and shared outdoor spaces make up a lot of the reclaimed Kha-Nam Noi House.

Thai architecture firm YangNar Studio recently completed “Kha-Nam Noi house” in the central province of Sing-Buri, Thailand, using an existing elongated pigsty as a shell for a series of comfortable living spaces made almost entirely with reclaimed materials.

Source: YangNar Studio Converted a Pigsty into a Beautiful Tropical Home in Thailand

Wind turbine blades could be recycled into gummy bears, scientists say | Wind power | The Guardian

Two gummy bears made from the composite resin that could be used to make wind turbine blades

Two gummy bears made from the composite resin that could be used to make wind turbine blades. Photograph: Reuters/John Dorgan

Once the blades have reached the end of their lifespan the materials can be broken down and recycled to make new products including turbine blades – and chewy sweets.

Source: Wind turbine blades could be recycled into gummy bears, scientists say | Wind power | The Guardian

Sustainable department store opens in Mayfair – TheIndustry.fashion

The Good Store “radically rethinks the department store”, with an emphasis on reuse and refurbishment. A range of plastic-free and sustainably sourced products are on offer, with the space also set to host informative educational events and services to guide consumers through eco-conscious choices.

Source: Sustainable department store opens in Mayfair – TheIndustry.fashion

Waste firehoses turned into outdoor furniture for Maggie’s Southampton

Woven red lounge chair with terrazzo sidetable by Local Works Studio

Integrated sidetables were added to the lounge chairs

“People who sit in the chairs and touch the surfaces can ‘read’ the story of the furniture and understand where the materials came from. This connection to place and the playful character of the furniture is a powerful antidote to the usual impersonal, sterile environment of a hospital.”

Source: Waste firehoses turned into outdoor furniture for Maggie’s Southampton

84 new manufacturing jobs are coming to Dale County

Encore International

The largest converter of reclaimed rubber in North America is coming to Alabama. (Encore International)

Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this company uses reclaimed materials to make flooring and surface products. Ecore International is the largest converter of reclaimed rubber in the continent, mostly using recycled truck tires.

Source: 84 new manufacturing jobs are coming to Dale County

Bespoke Torquay home revolves around recycled materials | news.com.au 

Mel and Jez Wright are selling the custom home they created at 29 Highlander St, Torquay.

Mel and Jez Wright are selling the custom home they created at 29 Highlander St, Torquay.

“I ended up ferrying 100 or so bricks in the back of a van and we’ve incorporated them into the walls of what we funnily call the rave cave,” she said.“It’s a space that we’ve created off the living area to house our music collection. And it’s got some thick sliding barn doors that Jez constructed from the wood that he’s collected over the years.

Source: Bespoke Torquay home revolves around recycled materials | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Major construction firms team up to get the carbon out… | Canary Media

(Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

Production of cement, the raw material in concrete, accounts for between 7 and 8 percent of global carbon emissions today, due both to the fossil fuels used in its high-heat production and the chemical composition of the raw materials and processes that make it.

Source: Major construction firms team up to get the carbon out… | Canary Media

How to Salvage Building Materials: 5 Tips

Building materials at a scrap yard

Alan Schein / Getty Images

Reusing old wood, windows, metal, brick, and even concrete seems like a no-brainer (even some animals recycle used materials!), but it sadly doesn’t happen as often as it should. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between 230 million and 530 million tons of construction and demolition waste are produced yearly in the United States.

Source: How to Salvage Building Materials: 5 Tips

‘Trash Has Value’: Black Woman Engineer Turns Plastic Into Bricks That Are Reportedly Stronger Than Concrete

Nzambi Matee, a 30-year-old who quit her job in oil and gas to work on her passion full-time, has created a lightweight and low-cost building material that is made of recycled plastic with sand to make bricks that are stronger than concrete material.

 

Source: ‘Trash Has Value’: Black Woman Engineer Turns Plastic Into Bricks That Are Reportedly Stronger Than Concrete

Big tourism boost for Mandurah as it welcomes Australian-first sculpture trail | Kalgoorlie Miner

Thomas Dambo’s troll sculptures have been exhibited all over the world. Pictured: his piece ‘The six forgotten giants - little Tilde’ based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Thomas Dambo’s troll sculptures have been exhibited all over the world. Pictured: his piece ‘The six forgotten giants – little Tilde’ based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Lars W. Jensen

Based in Denmark, Dambo is the world’s most prominent ‘recycle artist,’ best known for giant troll sculptures all made from reclaimed materials.

Source: Big tourism boost for Mandurah as it welcomes Australian-first sculpture trail | Kalgoorlie Miner

My Forest Cabin Is Built on Stilts With Recycled Materials

Alter cabin from Shoe Lake

Lloyd Alter’s cabin in Shoe Lake, Ontario, Canada. Lloyd Alter

The doors were grabbed from an office renovation, probably installed in the ’80s and replaced in the ’90s. The dining room table is cut out of a bowling alley, on a base my dad made; it was in his cottage for years. My dad also made the sideboard—it’s made from the floors of shipping containers.

Source: My Forest Cabin Is Built on Stilts With Recycled Materials

Maybe awards should celebrate co-operation rather than competition

Not to mention: What steps were taken to source reclaimed materials? How was the water footprint of the materials reduced? What was done to ensure that the extraction and processing of the materials caused no ill health in communities local to their manufacture? How was renewable energy generation capacity increased either on or off site? How did the project reduce the energy consumption of the building’s users? How did the project reverse ecological harms?

Source: Maybe awards should celebrate co-operation rather than competition

A Suburban Virginia Spec House That’s a Mix of Ultra-Modern Features and Reclaimed Wood From the Property

The rear of the home has multi-level patios and sitting areas and a heated pool and spa. Eddie Avenue Photography

This unusual new spec house in the Virginia suburbs offers an old-fashioned mix of hardwood flooring milled from trees on the property and reclaimed materials from the former house on the site that’s been paired with ultra-modern features.

Source: A Suburban Virginia Spec House That’s a Mix of Ultra-Modern Features and Reclaimed Wood From the Property

AJ Small Projects winner: How Akin Studio designed its treehouse on stilts

Akin Studio won the AJ Small Projects Award 2022 last week for its ‘treehouse’ in rural Herefordshire.

Have you learned anything in terms of materials on this project that you might use on other schemes? The clients are incredibly resourceful, and we learnt to embrace reclaimed materials, as well as the importance of reuse and considering the afterlife of building components. In the case of Drovers’ Bough, the exposed structural elements are all carefully bolted together allowing for future disassembly or replacement, and many parts of the project were made from surplus materials or reclaimed products.

Source: AJ Small Projects winner: How Akin Studio designed its treehouse on stilts

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Is Secretly One of NYC’s Most Wellness-Focused Retreats

Photo credit: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Photo credit: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Hotel Brooklyn Bridge will have you booking a room for the views of the eponymous man-made wonder yet reveling in the amenities upon your arrival. Billed as a hotel of “sustainable luxury,” the five-star hotel was designed by location artists using reclaimed materials and native greenery, lending to the tranquility of the space.

Source: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Is Secretly One of NYC’s Most Wellness-Focused Retreats

Linda Boronkay designs Osborn House – a whimsical country retreat in Australia • Hotel Designs

Image credit: Osborn House / Alan Jenson

“Just like a certain song or fragrance can have an incredible emotional impact on us, we believe design has the same power to evoke positive memories and feelings,” said Boronkay. “The combination of reclaimed materials paired with rich and tactile fabrics, curated objects from around Europe and personal touches in the different spaces will make you feel like you are being embraced by an interesting individual.”

Source: Linda Boronkay designs Osborn House – a whimsical country retreat in Australia • Hotel Designs

I make my fetish gear from recycled tires to help save the planet

G Martin in the warehouse where she sources her materials

The eco-friendly fashion designer sources her materials from a nearby industrial estate to create her looks.
Jam Press/@broke_boutique

A London-based fashion designer is turning recycled rubber into 1970s punk rock-inspired accessories.East Londoner G Martin, 34, repurposed nearly 688 pounds of rubber that would be piling up in landfills by turning it into rockin’ recycled fashion pieces.

Source: I make my fetish gear from recycled tires to help save the planet